Briefing Room

AGCO’s RG700 self-propelled sprayer is being enhanced for 2015 with a simplified drive system to provide improved performance and easier operation.
The upgraded model is planned for introduction in late spring 2015 as the RG700B. In addition to having a Tier 4 final engine, the machine’s AWD Smart Drive System will enable some components to operate automatically, without operator input, according to Craig Miller, sales and marketing specialist for AGCO Application Equipment. ...More

Valent U.S.A. Corp., has announced a series of expansions to its commercial business over the next six months in its specialty and row crop portfolio.
The expansions will organize the sales and technical service teams of Valent into three commercial units — Western, Midwest and Coastal. Leadership of the units will be staffed by veteran Valent employees, with extensive experience and knowledge of the local areas....More

Growing Matters, an industry consortium that includes Bayer CropScience, Syngenta and Valent U.S.A. Corp., has released the results of a study that found neonicotinoids significantly increase yields of major yields of major crops. The research assembled existing data from more than 1,500 field studies conducted over 15 years in eight crops: corn, soybean, wheat, cotton, sorghum, canola, potato and tomato....More

Syngenta announced Dec. 22 that it received the safety certificate for its Agrisure Viptera trait from China's regulatory authorities, formally granting import approval.
The approval covers corn grain and processing byproducts, such as dried distillers grains for food and feed use....More

DuPont Pioneer Dec. 11 released its 2015 corn product offerings, featuring a broad line-up of locally advanced and tested products designed to deliver yield consistency and help improve grower profitability.
The 2015 line-up includes 48 new corn products ranging from 70 to 121 comparative relative maturity and features 27 new genetic platforms with high-performing trait packages. Pioneer conducted more than 1,300 corn IMPACT trials (Intensively Managed Product Advancement, Characterization and Testing) in 2014 to determine the right fit for new products in the pipeline....More

John Deere recently introduces three small-frame 6R series tractor models for the 2015 season: the 6110R, 6120R and 6130R.
According to Kory Ross, product manager for mid-tractors at John Deere, the new small-frame 6R tractors are designed with many of the hydraulic, control and comfort features of the larger 6R Tractors, but offer the maneuverability and compactness many customers want to more easily handle a wide variety of chores....More

Dow AgroSciences is planning what could be a called a limited introduction of its Enlist Duo herbicide for the 2015 crop season, a recognition of the fractured regulatory system that continues to hamper development of GMO crops.
The company began working on its innovative Enlist Weed Control System more than a decade ago. The goal, then and now, was to offer farmers a new herbicide-resistant trait that would allow them to apply 2,4-D, a herbicide that has been successfully used around the world for more than 60 years, over the top of corn, cotton and soybeans....More

America’s Farmers Grow Ag Leaders is now launching in 40 states, with more than $500,000 worth of scholarships available. Sponsored by the Monsanto Fund, the program provides $1,500 college scholarships to students pursuing a degree related to agriculture....More